Mortality patterns in a rural Kenyan community.

Causes of death of 239 children below the age of 5 years in a rural community were determined using structured questionnaires.

It was found that mortality was highest in infancy, accounting for 63% of all deaths with a trend of decreasing mortality with increasing age.

The commonest cause of death was ARI (pneumonia and measles) accounting for 49% of the deaths, followed by diarrhoeal illnesses (8.8%). Only half of the deaths (51.5%) occurred at some health facility, though 77% of all children had been taken to a health facility for treatment during the fatal illness.